Kejadian 1:3

1:3 God said, ¹  “Let there be ²  light.” ³  And there was light!

Kejadian 1:7-9

1:7 So God made the expanse and separated the water under the expanse from the water above it. ⁴  It was so. ⁵  1:8 God called the expanse “sky.” ⁶  There was evening, and there was morning, a second day.

1:9 God said, “Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place ⁷  and let dry ground appear.” ⁸  It was so.

[1:3]  ¹ tn The prefixed verb form with the vav (ו) consecutive introduces the narrative sequence. Ten times in the chapter the decree of God in creation will be so expressed. For the power of the divine word in creation, see Ps 33:9, John 1:1-3, 1 Cor 8:6, and Col 1:16.

[1:3]  sn God said. By speaking, God brings the world into existence. The efficacious nature of the word of the Lord is a prominent theme in this chapter. It introduces the Law, the words and commandments from the Lord that must be obeyed. The ten decrees of God in this chapter anticipate the ten words in the Decalogue (Exod 20:2-17).

[1:3]  ² tn “Let there be” is the short jussive form of the verb “to be”; the following expression “and there was” is the short preterite form of the same verb. As such, יְהִי (yÿhi) and וַיְהִי (vayÿhi) form a profound wordplay to express both the calling into existence and the complete fulfillment of the divine word.

[1:3]  ³ sn Light. The Hebrew word simply means “light,” but it is used often in scripture to convey the ideas of salvation, joy, knowledge, righteousness, and life. In this context one cannot ignore those connotations, for it is the antithesis of the darkness. The first thing God does is correct the darkness; without the light there is only chaos.

[1:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “the expanse.”

[1:7]  ⁵ tn This statement indicates that it happened the way God designed it, underscoring the connection between word and event.

[1:8]  ⁶ tn Though the Hebrew word can mean “heaven,” it refers in this context to “the sky.”

[1:9]  ⁷ sn Let the water…be gathered to one place. In the beginning the water covered the whole earth; now the water was to be restricted to an area to form the ocean. The picture is one of the dry land as an island with the sea surrounding it. Again the sovereignty of God is revealed. Whereas the pagans saw the sea as a force to be reckoned with, God controls the boundaries of the sea. And in the judgment at the flood he will blur the boundaries so that chaos returns.

[1:9]  ⁸ tn When the waters are collected to one place, dry land emerges above the surface of the receding water.